Finally a break in the weather, the snow has stopped and it is above freezing. So I'm heading out solo , leaving my beer wife in Northern Virginia to help with the twin Grandsons. I headed to North East Pennsylvania to visit one of my favorite breweries and then it was on to the Finger Lake region of New York State. I know......I already traveled to the Finger Lake region early in the quest. Believe it or not since my visit more breweries have opened. The craft Beer revolution is starting to rival the winery trails in the area. What is really neat is breweries and farmers are starting to grow hops in New York State again. New York once was a very large growing of hops until a blight and the Prohibition Era ended the the growing of hops in the State. I can't wait to taste some the exciting brews that will be produced with local hops. Plus how many more new breweries will we see in NYS. The Beer Trail is getting bigger.
- Weyerbacher Brewing- located in Easton, PA. This is one of my top 10 breweries and I have to admit during my first beer festival at Ommegang Brewery, one of their brews,"13", taught me the hard way to pace yourself when sampling at beer events. Their 13 was a highly rated ( oh yea a 13.6% ABV) that they now brew under the name Tiny and believe me it is not Tiny. Ok enough reminiscing, the large tasting room is located in front of their production facility. There were so many choices and yet I had to be careful not to become a blithering idiot. Wait Blithering Idiot is one of their beers, lets start with that one. I also sampled Merry Monks, Insanity and the last of their Imperial Pumpkin Ale. What a great stop and the friendliest of the two Brew servers, Lynn ( a fellow PSU Alumni) and Melissa, made the visit that much more enjoyable.
- Berwick Brewing- located in the small town of, you guessed it, Berwick, Pa, in the middle of North Central PA farm country. While visiting other breweries during the quest, people told me to stop by Berwick Brewery. It is just a few miles off of I-80 and I wasn't disappointed. I was fortunate to take a bar stool next to one of the Brewers, Jason Sheptak, who was taking a break. We had a very enjoyable brew conversation and he is planning some interesting beers for the future. The High Town Stout, Barley Town Porter and the smoke Session were my favorites of the flight. Great stop and I will stop in again when I'm in the area.
- Ithaca Brewing- has a beautiful brewpub attached to their production facility. In addition to good beer they also have an excellent food menu. When the weather improves you can enjoy your brew and food in a very nice outdoor area. Flower Power has grown into a very popular IPA and it is very good drinking it fresh at the brewery. I also recommend the Embrr Rye Porter and Daydreamer. This brewery is very popular with the locals, so be prepared it gets crowded.
- Bacchus Brewery- just north of Ithaca, you will find this brewery in the small Village of Dryden, NY. Bacchus is the Roman name for the god of Intoxication. So what better name for a brewery name. This nano brewery has a small tasting area, however, squeeze in and enjoy a nice selection of brews. The Flora's Fate Pale Ale and Cyclhops IPA were my favorite.
- Farmhouse Brewery- on the outskirts of Owego, NY, not far off of the main drag (RT. 96 ) into town, you will find a small red building that is not only a brewery but a Malt house. It is easy to miss, I drove by it twice. They are brewing their beer using their fresh malt and in local hops. This really puts local into their beer. I sampled an interesting OH-MY-Gourd, Crazy Daisy and Rascal. Very good brews with a very friendly tasting room.
- The North Brewery- Endicott &Johnson City are towns in the Binghamton, NY area that depended heavily on IBM and Endicott Johnson shoes as the major employer of the area. The area has suffered economically when these two companies moved from the area. So a few craft breweries have opened in the area, hopefully bringing some life back to these economically starved towns. The North Brewery is in the heart of down town Endicott. The brewpub has a large bar area and had a very nice evning crowd when I stopped in. Zach was serving the beer and he has a passion for craft beer. Every pour he provided a very nice description of the beer. The 7:00 AM stout was worth the stop alone, I also enjoyed the Green October, Hop Crux and Cerveza De Los Muertos.
- Binghamton Brewery- located in Johnson City, this brewery was inspired by tow beer lovers serving as volunteers for the Belgium comes to NY beer festival at Ommegang Brewery. Ironically this was one of the festivals that got me hooked on craft beer. Jason, co-owner and brewer was serving beer the evening I stopped in. The hospitality was great and in addition to enjoy good beer, we had some nice beer conversations. This was my last stop of a very busy day, so I was sampling light. The Coffee Stout, Black IPA and Belgian Strong Dark were my favorites of the flight. Jason gave me a quick tour of the brewery and it was a perfect end to a great day.
- Heavily Brewing- Montour Falls on the southern end of Seneca Lake is the home to this recently opened brewery. Wayne the co-owner and Brewer was serving during my visit. He is working on building his brew selection. I was able to sample the last of his Winter Seasonal a very nice winter ale. I also enjoyed the Apex IPA and the English Bitter. Wayne is a very talented carpenter and has built a beautiful tasting area and bar. they also have entertainment on the weekends, so be sure to stop by and see what he has on tap.
- Climbing Bines Hop Farm & Brewery- this brewery is located on the Northwest side of Seneca Lake and as the name implies they are growing hops for their beer. The brewery has a beautiful view of the Lake, unfortunately it was windy and cold during my visit. I sampled their IPA and Imperial IPA and they were very good. The Ye Old Traverse strong Ale was excellent. I'm looking forward to a return visit on a nice summer day enjoying a brew next to the hop fields and over looking Seneca lake.
- Steuben Brewing- moving over to Keuka Lake you will find another recent addition to the Finger Lakes Beer Trail. Steuben Brewery is another farm brewery utilizing NY barley, malt and hops. The Hopyard IPA, NY Rye, American Black Ale were very good beers. This is a small brewery with a small tasting room, however, they are putting out some great brews.
- Finger Lakes Beer Co- I'm not positive, but I think this brewery may have been one of the first in the Hammondsport area. They have two nice tasting areas and a large bar. They also had a large selection and variety of house brews. I sampled 8 of them ( I couldn't help myself), my favorites were Ring of Fire scotch ale, Whiteout Wassil, Hammonds Porter and the nut brown. I believe he was releasing a watermelon wheat for his Spring Seasonal. This was a great stop, just too many brews to choose from.
- The Brewery of Broken Dreams- located just on the outskirts of Hammondsport, this brewery is has been a dream of Shelly and her husband for a while. Something always seemed to prevent them from getting into the craft brew business, resulting in broken dreams. Thus the name of their brewery when the opportunity finally let them open. The tasting room looks and feels of a European brewpub. I enjoyed sampling , Unfinished Business a scotch ale, Floating Leaf Porter and the Crying Loon Pale Ale. Good beer, great atmosphere and a friendly owner, be sure to stop by and enjoy a few good pints.